


Birthday

by youareaprogram



Series: Reyes Vidal Prompts [4]
Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Short rambling drunk writing, prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-11
Updated: 2017-07-11
Packaged: 2018-12-01 00:46:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11475081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/youareaprogram/pseuds/youareaprogram
Summary: It's Reyes birthday and he's deliberating about a certain decision. Pre-Andromeda.





	Birthday

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little thing for a prompt I got on tumblr about Reyes + birthdays. I decided to go into a little about his past pre-Andromeda (though this'll probably be thrown out if/when they do a follow up to Andromeda *crosses fingers*)

 

It had just turned midnight once he had decided.

He’d been putting off a decision for months.

 

Reyes sat, legs crossed, in his average little apartment, in an average little corner of Zakera Ward. He’d been there a few years now, living amongst the Citadel races. In fact, if he squinted and turned his head slightly to the left when looking out of the average little window, he could see the Citadel tower at a certain time of day. Seemingly a hand-grasp away and yet the dark sapphire waters of the Presidium held him back.

 

He had no interest in politics, to his own surprise; he certainly had a talent for lying and persuasive tongue: it seemed like a perfect fit on the surface. And yet he had seen how the Council and Alliance had worked; they very rarely were concerned about the people they were supposed to speak for let alone represent them in any meaningful fashion.

 

His work had brought him across many politicians within his time on the Citadel. Whether they were buying or selling; it was all fair game. Of course he was just an agent of the Shadow Broker; not even high on the food chain of his or her or their contacts. But in that short period of time he’d met with diplomats from all manner of Council worlds; each using Reyes, and his information from the Broker, to anchor and thether themselves to a steady place in the ever changing world of Council politics.

 

Reyes knew his role here; he was a pawn, used to relay information to those higher-ups. They were the ones who truly mattered. Who were _someone_.

 

Reyes wasn’t. Not now anyway. Agents of the Shadow Broker were credits a dozen. They had to be, in this business, where secrets were the trade and many of the players were willing to kill, and worse, to keep them.

 

He’d hoped for better of course. When he’d left Earth and the Sol system behind, Reyes had hoped to make something of himself on the stage of intragalactic power. But he’d been desperate, needed to eat and no one looked after the little people. Not back on Earth and not here on the Citadel either. So, it was work for these ivory-tower politicians or starve. And Reyes had met a few duct rats in his time; it wasn’t a life.

 

So, he’d signed up as an agent. Used his skills to keep him afloat. But each night, at the back of his skull, gnawed an old calling for him to rise to the occasion. He wanted to make something of himself; set himself up so he wouldn’t need to rely on the dirty money of these big-wig politicians. He wouldn’t be under obligation to lie, cheat and use his charlatan ways to earn another morsel of food to ease his meagre lifestyle.

But there was another option.

 

A far-fetched fantasy of an idea that clung to Reyes’ mind and wouldn’t let go. He knew it was fanciful; too good to be true.

 

_The Andromeda Initiative._

 

He could start again there. For real this time; there were stagnant bad-blood histories out there in Andromeda; something he’d overlooked when he tried to make his big break here on the Citadel. The problem with the Milky Way is that wherever you went; people knew you. Sometimes it felt suffocating to Reyes. But the idea of the Initiative eased his breathing at night.

 

Like now.

 

Taking his omni-tool, switching to the plasma option included as part of his package, he lit the candles on the threadbare cake before him.

 

“Happy birthday Reyes.”

 

He’d made his decision.

 

_Andromeda awaits._


End file.
